Lim: No proof to back ex-PM’s claims

Documents supporting China’s pledge to import US$2 trillion in goods not found

KUALA LUMPUR: The Finance Ministry has found no documents to support claims that China had committed to import goods worth US$2 trillion (RM7.96 trillion) as part of two pipeline agreements worth RM9.4bil.

Minister Lim Guan Eng said they had sought assistance from Treasury officials and the Chief Secretary to the Government to ascertain the claims by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“All officials stated that the claims by Najib are untrue,” he said.

The checks included Cabinet papers presented in 2016 and 2017 that included the approval of Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER) projects.

On June 5, Najib issued a statement defending his administration’s award of two petrochemical and gas pipeline projects worth RM9.4bil to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) by SSER.

Lim however said in the statement yesterday that Najib “did not focus on the principal questions surrounding the pipeline scandal but instead focused on alleged purported benefits to the country from signing this RM9.4bil contract”.

“He also claimed that he and China’s Premier Li Keqiang had witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the pipeline projects along with other projects while in Beijing on May 14, 2017.”

Najib claimed that China had also committed to importing goods worth US$2 trillion over the next five years from Malaysia, invest up to US$150bil (RM597.6bil) in Malaysia and offer 10,000 places for training and studies in various institutions in China, he added.

Lim said the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) raided the SSER office after a report was lodged.

“The Finance Ministry has now taken control of SSER offices. All its employees have been placed on ‘garden leave’ until further notice,” he said.

The ministry, he added, has also terminated Datuk Mohammed Azhar Osman Khairuddin as SSER president.

“We are in the process of appointing an Executive Committee led by an accounting firm to operate the company and investigate the transactions made by SSER.

“The Pakatan Harapan Federal government would like to assure Malaysians that all necessary measures would be taken to uncover the truth.

“We will take any required action against any party responsible to protect taxpayers’ interests,” he said.

The MultiProduct Pipeline (MPP), costing RM5.35bil, involved a 600km multiproduct petroleum pipeline connecting Melaka and Port Dickson to Jitra.

The TransSabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) involved building a 662km gas pipeline from Kimanis Gas Terminal to Sandakan and Tawau, costing RM4.06bil.